By ANDREW CRUM, Staff Writer
Brownsville First Baptist is quite familiar with their next opponent.
The Crusaders face fellow District 6-1A foe Mission Juan Diego at 6 p.m. tonight in the TAPPS Class 1A state semifinals at Lake Ridge High School in Mansfield.
First Baptist has played Juan Diego four times this season, twice during tournaments and twice in district. The Crusaders won three of the four meetings, the only loss coming during district play.
“I think either team could win,” First Baptist coach Terry Roberts said. “They are good enough to beat us on any given night. This is a roll-of-the-dice game.”
The Crusaders played well in the beginning of the season before hitting a slight bump after Christmas break. But First Baptist is getting back to form and has hit its stride during the playoffs.
After a 59-41 defeat of Conroe Lifestyle in the area round, the Crusaders used their specialty of hard-nosed defense to take care of Houston Family 48-11 in the regional to advance.
Roberts has confidence in his team going into tonight’s game but doesn’t take the Lady Lions lightly, especially after how close the past two games were against one another.
“If I were a betting man I wouldn’t bet either way, both teams have shown they can win,” he said. “They’ve gotten better as the season went on and they’re at the top of their game, too.”
First Baptist has only lost three games this season, to Juan Diego, Rio Hondo and St. Joseph Academy. Each loss resulted from the opponent being able to handle their defensive pressure. The Crusaders know they’ll have to play exceptional defense to beat the Lady Lions once more this season.
First Baptist expects a big challenge from a team that is all too familiar with its style of play in the fifth matchup of the two schools this season. Roberts said it’s his only regret of the season.
“I wish we wouldn’t have played them so many times this season,” he said. “They know they can win, and we know we can win. I think it could go either way.
“If one of their girls gets hot on the three-point line or we could come out (shooting) cold, you never know what can happen.”
Andrew Crum covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6629 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @andrewmcrum.